Debates of Aug. 12th, 2020

COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Matters

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government has created over 40,000 affordable child care spaces and is committed to creating another quarter of a million child care spaces that are affordable. A federal secretariat will be investing over $1.2 billion over the next eight months.

This is questioning the sincerity and the commitment of a government that is not only demonstrating leadership, but also backing that leadership with resources for the sector. It boggles my mind what the leader of the NDP is talking about.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the National Post the Prime Minister's Office refused to answer some questions. I would like to give the government the opportunity to provide some clarity.

Did the Prime Minister or anyone in his office meet or speak with Rob Silver, who is the husband of the Prime Minister's chief of staff, Katie Telford, about commercial rent, yes or no?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is an independent government body that works on delivering the Canada emergency commercial rent assistance program, which is a program that is doing a lot to help small businesses and employees across the country.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is a very simple yes-or-no question.

Did the Prime Minister or anyone in his office meet with Rob Silver, either in person, via telephone, via Zoom conference or text, about the issue of commercial rent, yes or no?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am really happy to discuss the details of the Canada emergency commercial rent assistance program. It is a program that has delivered help to over 72,000 small businesses across the country and over 670,000 employees.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I will take that as a “yes”.

When did the Prime Minister or someone in his office meet with Mr. Silver? What are the dates and who met with Mr. Silver?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Canada emergency commercial rent assistance program is doing exactly what it is supposed to be doing, which is delivering help to small—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. opposition House leader.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, has the finance minister or anyone in his office met with Mr. Silver about commercial rent?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to address what the hon. member has asked. The Office of the Ethics Commissioner was consulted. A screen was put in place, and all steps were followed regarding this matter.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, they should then be able to answer the question, and I take that as a “yes”.

Who in the finance minister's office met with Mr. Silver and when did they meet with Mr. Silver?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to repeat that the Office of the Ethics Commissioner was consulted, a screen was put in place and all the appropriate steps were taken.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, those are evasive non-answers.

Six months into this pandemic, and six years into this government, and the Prime Minister will be remembered for a $343-billion deficit and for setting the lowest bar ever for a prime minister's conduct in the history of this country.

The Prime Minister inappropriately groped a woman. He wore black face. He, his friends and his family took a prepaid, lavish vacation to billionaire island. He interfered in an SNC Lavalin criminal trial, and he then fired his attorney general because she would not go along with his cronyism.

He tried to give almost $1 billion to his friends at WE, who, we now know, have not only been campaigning for him, but have also been meeting with tens of thousands of young people and trying to get them to vote Liberal. We have also found out that WE has given the Prime Minister's family and friends, his family especially, hundreds of thousands of dollars, and we have now found out that the husband of the Prime Minister's chief of staff got a nice $83-million contract from the Prime Minister.

With the Liberals, it really is about who one knows, not what one knows. This makes the Liberal sponsorship scandal look like child's play, actually.

Can the Prime Minister tell us—oh, sorry, he is not here. Can somebody on that side tell us why the Prime Minister thinks the rules do not apply to him?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I do not think I have to remind hon. members that we cannot refer to someone's absence or presence in the House, or in committee, for that matter. I want to remind everyone that it is not something we can do.

The hon. minister.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth]

Mr. Speaker, it has been a while since I have had the opportunity to answer the opposition House leader. I will remind her that we do have officers of Parliament and we take the work they do very seriously. They work independently of this place, and we have always assured them that we will work and comply with their offices.

I have somewhat dated numbers, but I think it is important, because we are in the midst of a pandemic, that Canadians be reminded of these numbers. As of June 28, 8.16 million individuals had been helped by the Canada emergency response benefit. CEWS, the Canada emergency wage subsidy, has supported over three million employees. Approximately 3.7 million families benefited from the top-up of $300 to CCB, which is the tax-free Canada child benefit the Conservatives voted against. There were also 12 million individuals and families who received a special one-time payment through the GST credit. Over $1.4 billion went to over 600,000 students through the CESB. As well, 6.7 million seniors received the one-time tax-free payment of $300, and 2.2 million of those 6.7 million also received an additional $200.

The list is long because right now our focus is on Canadians and ensuring that they have money in their pockets and the supports they need. The Conservatives are continuing to play their partisan politics. We will stay focused on Canadians.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, did the Prime Minister, any minister in the Liberal government or any of their staffers know that the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, a Crown corporation mandated to manage the emergency commercial rent assistance program, ultimately decided to outsource the file to MCAP, a mortgage lender, yes or no? Was anyone in this government aware of that?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I know the Harper Conservatives have difficulties with independent government agencies, but it was the Canada Mortgage and Housing Agency, CMHC, that was chosen as the appropriate partner for the federal government to implement CECRA. It was CMHC that made the independent decision to have MCAP as the administrator for CECRA.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am holding in my hand a press release from the Prime Minister's Office dated April 24. It states, and I quote, “The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [the CMHC] will administer and deliver the CECRA”.

How is it that the CMHC, which was mandated by the government to manage a program worth several billion dollars, decided to outsource it at a cost of $84 million to MCAP, the vice-president of which just happens to be married to the PMO's chief of staff, the most powerful person in that office?

Did anyone in this Liberal government know that the file was going to be outsourced to that organization with close ties to the Prime Minister's chief of staff?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the result of the Canada emergency commercial rent assistance program is that over 670,000 employees and over 72,000 small businesses have been assisted through this program, with over $712 million of relief given to small businesses. That is what CECRA has done, and that is the record of this government.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a simple question. Did the Minister of Official Languages know that WE Charity gave a contract to National to implement the scholarship program for the entire francophone sector in Quebec and across the country, yes or no?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth]

Mr. Speaker, as we have said, there was a contribution agreement that the public service negotiated with the organization to work with the others. Our goal was to ensure opportunities for students and not-for-profits. That is exactly why we have a program—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Richmond—Arthabaska.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in this cabinet there are 11 Quebec ministers as well as other francophones: the Minister of Official Languages, the President of the Treasury Board, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and political lieutenant for Quebec, the Minister of Transport, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Minister of Indigenous Services, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of National Revenue, not to mention the Prime Minister, who is a Quebecker.

Why did not one of these people rise and state that it is unacceptable to award a contract without a bidding process to an organization that only works in English? It is unacceptable to all Quebeckers and francophones across the country. Did even one of these ministers rise to say that awarding a contract to the Prime Minister's friends was ill-advised?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we knew that the Conservatives never liked science or evidence. We can see that this is still true.

The public service assured us that the organization that it recommended and that we accepted was capable of ensuring that all provinces and territories would be included, and that the program would be available in both official languages. The Canada student service grant was designed to support as many students as possible and help as many non-profit organizations as possible during these difficult times. We were assured that the organization could do so in both official languages.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are starting to see the pattern. The government awards a contract to an organization, which then subcontracts to friends of the government. I think all of the links are clear.

Here is a very simple question for the Prime Minister. Could he tell us whether WE Charity has repaid the $30 million? Is there anyone in this government, whether it is the clerk of the Treasury Board, one of the ministers responsible or the Prime Minister, who can tell us whether this $30 million, which belongs to the people of Canada, will be returned to the government's coffers? Yes or no?